Lockable push button actuator mechanisms suitable for use with mechanical locking systems such as are used on large tool containers and the like are well known. Patents that disclose such lockable push button actuator mechanisms that are well suited for use with mechanical locking systems include U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,066 issued Oct. 24, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 7,205,492 issued Apr. 17, 2007, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,084,701 issued Dec. 27, 2011. These patents are referred to later herein as the Lockable Push Button Actuator Patents, and their disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
Lockable push button actuator mechanisms such as are disclosed in above-identified patents each have a generally tubular housing that can be mounted in an opening formed through a metal panel of a large tool container or the like. The housing typically has a relatively large diameter front bezel that defines a front face of the housing, and smaller diameter portions that extend rearwardly from the front bezel.
A push button subassembly is mounted for forward and rearward movement within a passage that extends centrally through the housing. The subassembly has a push button that is biased to project forwardly from the front face of the housing. A keyway opens forwardly through the front of the push button, and is designed to receive a key that can be turned between locked and unlocked orientations when a suitably configured key is inserted into the keyway. The locked and unlocked orientations to which the keyway can be turned are prominently marked by symbols provided on the front face of the housing. The push button can be manually depressed to a protected position where the push button can be latchingly retained substantially flush with the front face of the housing when the keyway is turned to the locked orientation.
Among other components of the lockable push button actuator mechanism are a tubular rear component that projects rearwardly from the housing, and a plunger that is carried inside the tubular rear component. If the keyway is turned to the unlocked orientation, both the tubular rear component and the plunger are drivingly connected to the push button, and therefore move forwardly and rearwardly in unison with the push button. If the keyway is turned to the locked orientation, only the plunger is drivingly connected to the push button, hence only the plunger moves rearwardly when the push button is depressed. When the rearwardly moving push button reaches a protected depressed position with the keyway turned to the locked orientation, it is latchingly retained substantially flush with the front face of the housing.
Connected to the rear end region of the tubular rear component is a tapered, nosecone shaped member which defines at its rearmost end an engagement surface that is commonly used to operate components of a mechanical locking system. When the keyway at the front of the push button is turned to the unlocked orientation, the tubular rear component and the nosecone shaped member connected thereto are both drivingly connected to the push button and therefore move forwardly and rearwardly in unison with the push button—hence the engagement surface moves forwardly and rearwardly with the push button. However, when the keyway is turned to the locked orientation, the tubular rear component and the engagement surface connected thereto do not move rearwardly when the push button is depressed, but the plunger situated inside the tubular rear component does move rearwardly with the depression of the push button, which is a feature of relative movement (of the tubular rear component and the plunger situated inside the tubular rear component) that has not been used until now to operate anything.
As will be explained, the present invention makes use of a relative movement that can take place between the tubular rear component and the plunger situated inside the tubular rear component to operate an electrical switch when the push button is depressed under certain conditions, namely when the keyway of the push button is turned to the vertical locked orientation. To retrofit existing lockable push button actuator assemblies or mechanisms to make use of this relative movement, the present invention calls for a nosecone shaped member that is carried by the tubular rear component to be removed and replaced by an adapter that carries an electrical switch having an operator that can be engaged by the plunger to operate the electrical switch when certain relative movement takes place between the tubular rear component and the plunger—thereby enabling a lockable push button actuator (which has been retrofitted by removing its nosecone shaped member and replacing it with an electrical switch) to be used as a component of an electrically operated locking system.